BC Ferries is cutting 98 round trips on major routes between the mainland and Vancouver Island in order to cut costs.
Deborah Marshall, manager of media relations, said the majority of the cuts, 48, will be on the Tsawwassen-Duke Point route, starting on October 13 and running until March 31.
“Basically, what the schedule will look like is on Saturdays, we’ll start our operational day at 7:45 am,” she said. “The last sailing of the day, on Saturdays only, will be 3:15 pm. Customers, if they do want to travel later into the evening, they can travel between Departure Bay-Horseshoe Bay or Swartz Bay-Tsawwassen.”
On the Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay route, 18 round trips are being cut, beginning on October 4. Marshall said the cuts are to extra sailings that are supplemental to the regular schedule.
On the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route, 32 round trips are being cut. The sailings are also supplemental, Marshall said, and could include some extra sailings on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
“We expect to save $1 million a year,” Marshall said. “The sailings that we are looking at pulling out have about 25 per cent utilization.”
Since these sailings are three-quarters empty, Marshall added, the company will be able to absorb the traffic on other sailings.
BC Ferries is still talking with the provincial government about possible changes on its minor routes, but no decisions are expected until next summer.
Kate Trotter, a spokeswoman for the ministry of transportation and infrastructure, said the ministry is currently in the planning stages for the engagement process. “We anticipate making an announcement regarding the specific dates for the consultations in the coming weeks,” she said. “Meetings with coastal communities will seek input on service adjustments to achieve $30 million in savings over the coming four years.”
BC Ferries released its first quarter results Friday covering the period between March and June, showing net earnings of $3.3 million. It lost $3.5 million over the same period last year.
Revenues increased 5.7 per cent, but almost half of the extra $10.6 million was due to the hike in fuel surcharges levied as a result of higher gas prices, the corporation said in a news release.
About $3.6 million was spent to cover those higher fuel costs.
Car and foot traffic continued a declining trend as BC Ferries experienced a drop of 1.7 per cent in vehicle traffic and 2.4 per cent in passenger traffic.
“We are managing our bottom line as efficiently as possible with our cost containment initiatives in order to reduce expenditures without compromising the safety of our operation,” said Mike Corrigan, BC Ferries’ president and CEO.
Corrigan said the corporation is looking forward to the government-established public engagement process to give British Columbians a voice in adjustments to service levels and the long-term vision for the corporation.
